Loon Lake’s Shoreline Recession Solved by Bob Hamilton

So interested was I as to why Loon Lake’s shoreline was receding that I commissioned the services of the Ed Hawk’s Oceanology Diving Bell to get to the literal bottom of the issue.  It was no easy task to be sure.  First off, I had a heck of a time fitting into that bell in the first place.  But five men, pushing and shoving, finally got me in,  I wondered,though, how I would get out since I was the only one going down into the depths of Loon Lake?

When I peered out the porthole of the diving bell, I first thought I had seen Nick Horner scuba diving.  Soon thereafter I discovered this creature and for something that size to exist he must drink a heck of a lot of water.  I was jut hoping he would not perceive my bell to be some sort of pill for him to swallow as well.

Then I discovered that it was only an old girl friend of mine covered with seaweed to give me the scare of my life. O’le Sharon was always so bug-eyed about me in those days. And she must have thought me to be a pill now. Anyway the mystery of Loon Lake’s shoreline recession is now solved.

Next I might tackle the Loch Ness Monster legend.

Loon Lake Shoreline Receding

With summer fast approaching, residents of Loon Lake may need to be careful jumping off the end of their piers less they come up with a muddy body. Tom Curtin of Branch, Michigan, has informed me that Loon Lake’s shoreline is receding to the point where many piers are now completely out of the water!

This could well be due to the lack of snowfall due to a mild winter.  I wonder if other area lakes are similarly affected such as Alice, Big Bass, Little Bass, Seaman, and Sauble lakes?  Let us know what the state of your area lake is like in respect to its shoreline. 

Perhaps all is needed are a few good Spring rainstorms? 

The Lost Oar on Loon Lake

A few days back, Dave wrote a post about a young boy he had worked with in Boys Clubs of America who had lost an oar in learning how to row a boat. That brought to my memory a time on Loon Lake where I met a similar fate but moreso in in the middle of that lake. The other difference is that I was not a young boy at the time but a rather neglectful fisherman.

My left oar lock jammed a bit and as I was working on that one, my arm bumped into the other oar sending it into the lake but without my knowing it at the time. After I worked out the jam with the left oar lock, I put out the anchor and began fishing. After about an hour, I pulled up the anchor having caught my limit and leaned back to row the boat to shore.

It was then that I discovered the missing oar which by that time was nowhere to be found. So, in effect, turned that rowboat int a canoe and set myself down on the floor of the boat and paddled each side deeply until I reached the shore.

It took longer to get there because rowboats are different from that of canoes. By the way, if anyone ever finds that oar you can keep it and put it into the Stupidity Hall of Fame. Or would shame more describe that award?

Seaman, Loon, Heart, and Alice Lakes

How about this overview of not only Seaman Lake, which I discussed this morning, but also Loon, Heart, and Alice Lakes which are all in close proximity to the others. In fact, Big Bass Lake is just to their north. Alice Lake, which Ed Hawks has a cottage on, is just a hoot and a hollar from Heart Lake which will be featured here soon.

Loon Lake, of course, once hosted the Loon Lake Pavillion, which was a roller skating rink par excellence for this area. If there are residents of any of these lakes that would care to comment about their particular lake, please do so by way of a comment. Ed Hawks has given us some infomration about Alice Lake but what about Heart Lake?

Loon Lake Vantage Point

What a great view of Loon Lake and also the best location to eat your supper. I know it will be a fish dinner of some sort, perhaps perch or bass? If this were the 1950′s you could put a reclining deck chair here and listen to the sounds of the organ music coming from the Loon Lake Roller Rink.

If you were close enough you could also observe the colored lights reflecting over all the lake from that rink.

At any rate just take a snooze out there on the deck and enjoy the wind rustling through the trees. Not a bad suggestion, eh?

Big Bass, Loon, and Bluegill Lake

I’ve often wondered why there was never an attempt made to construct a channel between Big Bass Lake and Blue Gill Lake just to its East?  The difference between the two lakes is not that great and it would make for a great addition to both lakes.

Loon Lake is just to the South of Big Bass Lake and was once home to a roller rink on the western shore of that lake.  With all the tourism in this area one would think that a new roller rink would be a great attraction in this area.  Maybe even greater with Big Bass Lake as its host? 

Maybe the movers and shakers around Big Bass Lake will consider that channel between Big Bass and Bluegill Lakes?  It might then rival the Sauble Lakes chains within their four channels.  Just a thought!

Winter at Na-Tah-Ka

Tucked neatly between Big Bass Lake and Lon Lake is Larry Bender’s operations including Na-Tah-Ka Tavern and Grill and his Corner Store.  It not only does a brisk business in the summer vacation months, but, as you see here, does not to so badly in the winter solace either.  This is the Lake County center for supper and fun when the weather turns frigid.

After snowmobiling for the day or ice fishing at either lake, patrons turn here for entertainment and good food.  Na-Tah-Ka even has their own Facebook page complete with all the goings on for that facility.  For decades Bender had waited for the Big Bass Lake store to cease operations to gain a foothold in the area and now his time has come.

The Big Bass Lake store is up for sale and badly in need of many repairs.  Perhaps one day an ice cream parlor will open there for the summer months?  Now that chapter has been closed and a new one opened almost at the center point between the two lakes. 

I wonder if the legendary camp monster from Camp Martin Johnson is related to Bender?  I think it was then known as “Baby Bender”.  Thoughts?

Swimming in Loon Lake by Dawn

I was I believe about 4 or 5 years old, and wading in Loon Lake was a popular habit for all of us kids. The grown-ups watched from shore. I wandered out too far into the lake…..and lost my footing, going down beneath the cool blue water. In my panic and confusion (and not knowing how to swim) I started the drowning process. Leaping up from the water, spitting water from my mouth and hollering for help! After the second time under I felt a strong arm grab mine and haul me to the surface. Kicking and sputtering and crying, I grabbed on to Dad with arms of steel, thanking him over and over. He was my hero! He still is……

After that incident I don’t remember too many other trips to Loon Lake. I am sure it is just that my memory has latched onto that episode and sort of wiped out anything else. Mom tells me we did go there on occasion, even after that. I guess it is just the sort of thing that sticks in your mind!

Loon Lake Shoreline

Aside from going to the Loon Lake Roller Rink along with traveling the road alongside Loon Lake en route to Big Bass Lake, I haven’t spent a whole lot of time thinking about this lake.  I used to look out the open windows at the rink to catch a breather from skating and always thought I heard some sort of camp on the northeast shore?  That was back in the 1950-1960′s. 

I was even more amazed to read the history of Martin Johnson, founder of his camp on Big Bass Lake.  He spent a whole summer at Loon Lake little realizing that Big Bass Lake was less than two stone throws away  But then that short stretch between the two lakes was heavily wooded.  I often wonder why he decided not to stay upon Loon Lake to build his eventual camp and why he then chose to move on to Big Bass Lake? 

Are there any stories circulating around about Loon Lake that anyone would care to share by way of a comment?

Remembering North Shore Camp on Loon Lake

It seems to me that in the 1950′s and 60′s there was some sort of camp or resort on the north side of Loon Lake.  I recall hearing  a lot o activity whenever my family went to the Loon Lake Roller Rink and it was always centered on the northwest side of that lake.  There were a lot of kids there at that time.

Perhaps some of the old timers who read BBL and Beyond would know about that place.  If so, leave us a comment as to what this facility was and weather it was a camp or resort.  If a camp, who supported it and how many kids attended it? 

The Errie Fog at Loon Lake

My friend Ben recently invited me to fish at Loon Lake in Lake County which is just a stone’s throw from Dave Norris’s favorite lake, that being Big Bass Lake. The two of us set out in early morning on a day when the fog was so thick I couldn’t even make Ben out in our boat if I hadn’t known it was him.

When I cast out my line it disappeared into that pea soup. Talk about an errie feeling and that fog lasted for nearly an hour before lifting. It reminded me of the lakes, or loch’s, of Scotland. Ben was just a hazy siloutte just a few feet away in our boat.

I can’t ever remember fishing in a fog so thick before. If there were other fishermen out there the odds of running into them literally would have been great. When I got home later that afternoon, my wife made me some pea soup to which I let out a huge belly laugh saying, “Ive already had that today, my love“. I ate it anyway to keep peace in the family.

The Road Along Loon Lake

This is the road that runs north and south along the full length of Loon Lake and this view is looking south.  In the distance, the road goes either east or west.  To the east is the Sauble Lakes chain while to the west the road takes you to Alice and Seaman Lakes.  There is a resort on Seaman Lake complete with a swimming pool.

Not far to the north on this road was the old Loon Lake Roller Rink  This short road makes a lot of twists and turns en route to a hill that precedes the Big Bass Lake Store and the Na-Tah-Ka Bar and Grill.  Now the much newer Na-Tah-Ka Corner Store can be found in that location as the Big Bass Lake store closed long ago. 

This road to the north was always the entry port to Big Bass Lake either when I was a youngster coming to our farm with my parents or on countless Boys Clubs of America trips to our property in the 1970′s.  This was the last leg of any trip for the boys from Marion, Columbus, or Hoffman Estates and marked the peak of their enthusiasm after a long journey was about to end.  Thus, this brief road holds a lot of good memories for me,

Loon Lake Magic

Loon Lake is just down a hill from Big Bass Lake yet this other lake has a magic all its own. For those that once lived on that lake in the 1950′s and 60′s, at night they were treated to the theatre organ music of the Loon Lake Pavilion. From almost anywhere on that lake you could make out the bright colors from that facility in the evening.

I’v always thought of Loon Lake as more of a fishing lake than a recreational lake. I’ve seen a lot of fishermen out there at almost any time of the day but precious few doing things like water skiing. Between it and Big Bass Lake it was the quieter of he two and that’s not all bad.

Without the constant flow of speedboats crusing around, Loon Lake residents can enjoy the peaceful serenity of their lake. For about half its length, a winding road follows its shoreline. For those that live on this lake, let us know a little something more about life on Loon Lake by way of a comment.

Frosty Loon Lake

Here is a good winter picture of Loon Lake which is just a good stones throw from Big Bass Lake to the south. No, you won’t find too many loons out there on this frigid day. Perhaps a few human “loonies” might be trying there hand at ice fishing on this particular cold day. The birds have taken wing for the south well before this time of the year.

Yes, and even a few Loon Lake people have headed for Florida. This year perhaps more for the inward lakes than that of the Gulf of Mexico as the oil spill from BP is still affecting the area and will be for some time to come.

I wonder how many year round residents there are at Loon Lake? If anyone lives around that lake let us know. And, then, put a few more logs in your fireplace so you will be quite warm after any outing at your lake.

Loon Lake Aerial

From the Club 37 Restaurant, just off Michigan 37, it’s about 15 miles to Loon Lake and another mile to Big Bass Lake. At the southwest corner of this aerial photograph is the turn off onto Big Bass Lake Road as one ventures northward along the west side of Loon Lake.

About halfway to Big Bass Lake was the old Loon Lake Pavillion or the roller rink as most of us knew it. Loon Lake was in full view of the rink with the shutters open as the colors and sounds of the roller rink reflected off Loon Lake nightly in the summer season. At one time this rink was used for dancing and it was owned by the same man that owned the Big Bass Lake Store, Otto Bartlett.

His daughter, Dixie, was an excellent roller skater in her own right. Past the rink the road has a few twists and turns before going up a small hill looking smack dab at Big Bass Lake straight ahead. Before arriving at the lake, on the right is the Na-Tah-Ka Bar and Grill.

As for Loon Lake, I often heard of its fishing lore but not much about how good swimming was there. What say you?